LEGAL ARTICLE
Despite its often secretive nature, the issue of covert surveillance always seems to be the subject of attention. This recently led the Scottish government to reassess the role in society of such surveillance.
LEGAL ARTICLE
Why is 'phone evidence' so prolific in prosecutions?It is a simple recognition that the explosion in the last 10 years of the use of mobile phones has given the police a very useful investigatory and evidential tool. The mobile phone is a p...
LEGAL ARTICLE
A local authority admitted in 2012 to spying on a family regarding a fraudulent school application. Many readers will be too well aware of cases brought about by Covert Police Operations usually involving SOCA or the Serious Crime Division ...
LEGAL ARTICLE
It was recently reported in the press that the tax inspectors of H.M. Revenue and Customs are to be given new powers allowing them to listen into tax-payers phone calls and plant bugs in their homes and offices. This follows the merger of C...
LEGAL ARTICLE
In October 2000, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) came into force. RIPA, and the Codes of Practice that accompany it, provide a statutory backdrop to all covert police operations.
LEGAL ARTICLE
It is a fact of life that the British way of policing is now heavily dependent on technology and intelligence. The proliferation of CCTV cameras makes UK citizens the most watched in Europe and readers of this article will be pleased to kno...
LEGAL ARTICLE
It is now common-knowledge that the police have at their disposal listening device technology, i.e. 'bugs'. In fact the type of technology involved is freely available to the public and the details are even sometimes disclosed to the defenc...
LEGAL ARTICLE
Background to the Law
Since the year 2000, anti-terror legislation in the United Kingdom has been the subject of much controversy due to its wide scope and seeming incompatibility with sections of the European Convention on Human Rights (E...